


Brothers Always Stick Together

by Mightymay



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comic)
Genre: Always, Brothers, Master Emerald, Sonic - Freeform, Sonic The Hedgehog - Freeform, archie comics - Freeform, chaotix, knuckles the echidna - Freeform, stick, together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-25
Updated: 2014-03-25
Packaged: 2018-01-17 00:56:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1368001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mightymay/pseuds/Mightymay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brothers are forever...right? When Mighty finally finds someone from his past, will he forget what's most important? Meanwhile, Espio is framed! The  ninja is in a rush to find the real culprit before he is marked as a terrorist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Forever

* * *

Mighty stood at the entrance to his cave, overlooking Angel Island and all its glory. The sun was just beginning to set in the distance, casting an orange glow on the lush landscape. His blue eyes sparkled with a kind of peaceful calm. A small yellow squirrel stood next to him.

"It's such a beautiful sight Ray. It's wonderful to know that no matter how bad the day is, you can still see the majestic sun rise and set every day."

Ray smiled slightly at that. "U-U-U-U-Unless we're caught in some sort of t-t-t-time loop or something weird like that."

"Well, yes, but…darn it Ray, the moment is gone." He turned back and entered his cave/house. It wasn't exquisitely furnished, but it was home. Two small beds and dressers lined the walls and a small weight bench lay in a corner. Pictures plastered the walls; of him and Ray, and of the Chaotix. Mighty sat on the end of the bed and yawned. Ray sat next to him.

"Thanks for the s-s-s-s-sunset Mighty." He pulled off his blue jacket and curled next to Mighty, leaning his head on his shoulder. Mighty wrapped an arm around him.

"Someone's tired. Long day?" Ray nodded, and closed his eyes.

"Maybe y-y-y-you could read m-m-me a story." Mighty glanced over at their impossibly small bookshelf. Three books lay in tattered covers upon a small rickety stand.

"Which one?" he asked his younger friend, picking the books up. Ray pointed to a small green book, the most worn down book of all. Mighty flipped it open and read the Book Title.

"The Adventures of Flash the Hedgehog; a story about adventure, mystery, suspense, and more. Good choice Ray." Ray laughed a little. "T-T-T-That's nothing compared to our adventures. The C-C-C-Chaotix always gets into interesting p-p-p-problems."

Mighty grinned. "Now that's the under-statement of the century. We get into so many problems; we can't get out of them all. Now let's start this book before you fall asleep on me." He began to read, keeping one eye on the book and one eye on Ray. It wasn't before long that Ray was fast asleep. Mighty closed the book and placed it gently on the rack. He lifted Ray up and carried him to the opposite bed. Tucking him in, he smiled at the dreaming squirrel.

"Goodnight Ray. I will never ever leave you. I hope you know that. Sleep tight. See you in the morning." He climbed into his own bed, and took off his shoes and gloves. Taking one last look at Ray, he blew out a candle that was the only source of light and went to sleep. Ray opened one eye and glanced at Mighty, who was slightly snoring.

"I know Mighty. I'll never leave you either. Good night." Then he curled up and went to sleep.

* * *

Far off, on another part of Angel Island, a purple chameleon stood outside a door. Anyone walking past the area wouldn't see the chameleon or the door. They would see a giant rock and think nothing of it. Yet this door led into one of the most well hidden places in Mobius. The entrance into one of the four clans in Dragon Kingdom; the Shinobi. A clan known and honored for their secrecy, they treasured information and skills above all else.

"Espio! Your shift is done." Espio looked back at the reptile who spoke. Another purple chameleon, a female, also the leader of the clan, was smiling at him. "You've been on watch for six hours now. It's time to take a break." Espio shook his head. "I'm sorry moth-master, I mean master. The night is still young, and I do not feel tired enough to come inside." She rolled her eyes at him, and closed the door behind her. "We're alone Espio. You can drop the formalities. Call me Espia."  _*Espia is the name I came up with for his mother. Espio means "I spy" in Spanish and Espia just means "Spy". I figured Espia sounded like a girl's name.*_

"I'm sorry Espia. Old habits die hard, I guess. I was just thinking about a couple people." He looked down at the ground below, and watched as a small beetle crawled by.

"Are you still upset about Valdez and Liza, Espio? They died bravely, and will never be forgotten." Espia told him, tilting his head up.

"They were Robotizized. That's not bravery, Mother. They died trying to kill me." She shook her head and smiled. "They died the second Robotnik turned on that foul machine. Those robots weren't really them as you knew them Espy. They were warped to believe what Robotnik wanted them to believe."

Espio tried hard not to cry, he knew that wouldn't be very calm of him. Instead, he stared at the stars, wondering if Valdez and Liza could see him now.  _Would they appreciate me? Would they be happy that I lived and they didn't?_  He thought. A shooting star shot by, leaving a fiery trail behind it.

All of the sudden, a yellow chameleon opened the door. "My Bride." He began. "The clan is waiting for you to start dinner." He closed the door and walked away. Espio looked at her. "We should go. You wouldn't want the clan to go hungry." Espia looked at him. He was hiding his feelings very well. "Try to focus on the Present, and let the Past fade slowly from your mind. You will never forget, only push aside such thoughts until a more appropriate moment." He nodded and opened the door for her. "Thank you. Let us hurry Master. They are waiting."

Espia smiled at the sudden transformation her son took. He went from talking to her like family, to being polite and formal in everything he did. She wondered how long he could keep his emotions in check. She knew that one day; they'd get the best of him. Some day soon.


	2. Today is going to be Interesting

"Ray, wake up." Mighty said, pulling the covers back. Ray mumbled something incoherent under his breath and rolled over. Mighty smiled and nudged the squirrel. "Come on Ray. There's a Chaotix meeting today and you know Knuckles hates it when we're late."

Ray sat up sleepily and rubbed his eyes. "W-W-W-Why does Knuckles need a m-m-meeting? The Dark Legion aren't attacking, are t-t-they?" Mighty shrugged and pulled out a foldable table. He struggled with it a bit as he tried to pull it apart. The table snapped back and pinched his nose. "Ow ow ow ow! My Dose hurts!" He swatted the table away and grabbed his nose in pain. Ray started laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny? It binched my nose." Mighty said, finally pulling the table apart and putting plates on it for breakfast. Ray laughed even harder and rolled right off the bed. "The s-s-s-strongest person in Mobius, even stronger than V-V-V-Vector or Knuckles, and he can't pull a t-t-table apart." Mighty rolled his eyes and put a pile of pancakes on Ray's plate. "Okay, okay, that is kind of funny. When you want to pull yourself off the floor, breakfast is ready."

* * *

Later, the Chaotix sat around the Master Emerald. The great gem sparkled and glittered in the sunlight. Knuckles stood tall and proud next to the great gem, his huge spiked hand resting on the top of it. Mighty, Ray, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Saffron, and Julie-Su sat on rocks around him. Mighty side-glanced at Ray, who still looked tired.

"Ok Chaotix, listen up. I know the Dark Legion seem to be MIA right now, and I know no other bad guy seems to be attacking us. These last few weeks have been peaceful. Too peaceful. Something is up, and we're not seeing it. Someone usually does something by now. Any ideas to why we suddenly are being left to ourselves?"

Vector opened his mouth to speak, but Julie-Su cut him off. "Maybe they're busy. With the whole freedom fighter issues going on down there, and the fact that Lien-Da is a grandmaster now (which means she works for Eggman) makes it plausible that the Dark Legion and Eggman are busy with Sonic right now." She smiled at Vector who was giving her the death glare. "Says the former Dark Legionaire. She might know where they all are and we could be ambushed soon." Vector snarled at her. Julie-Su stood up. "You calling me a traitor, suitcase face?" Vector stood up too. "I suppose I am, Bitch."

Espio stood up. "Oh for the love of God will you both shut the hell up! We're all tired of you two arguing! Now excuse me Knuckles, I have more pressing matters to attend to." He walked off, leaving everyone one shocked and amazed. "Did he just…?" Charmy said, then trailed off into silence. "M-M-Mighty. Is he okay?" Ray asked. Mighty shook his head in amazement. "I don't know Ray." Knuckles sat down. "He's never yelled like that before. Ever. In fact, I haven't seen him recently. Has he been very busy lately?" Mighty shrugged. "I guess he's been busy with his Shinobi stuff. He hasn't been around this part of Angel Island for days."

Vector looked around at everyone, then got up. " Great. Just great. Now look what you've done Julie-Su." Julie-Su got an angry look on her face. "What I'VE done? You started this whole thing. Oh. My. God. You are such an idiot." Knuckles grabbed both of them. "We do NOT have time for this. Break it up and lets go find Espio. " Saffron sighed in the background. "By now he's invisible and hiding or he's somewhere else. Let's wait until he gets back." Slowly the Chaotix meeting broke up. Mighty picked Ray up and set him on his feet. "Why don't we go down to New Mobotropilis and have some fun. Otherwise, this day won't be very fun to remember." Ray nodded happily and they wandered toward the edge of Angel Island.

Mighty looked back to where Espio had stalked off. He hoped his friend was okay. Espy tended to be kind of secretive about his clan life. Hopefully, he'll come back soon. He seemed pretty upset. Mighty pushed away those thoughts. He'd worry later, when he wasn't trying to cheer Ray up. He didn't want Ray to think he was upset. He grabbed Ray's hands and they glided down to the ground below Angel Island.

* * *

He stopped on the edge of Rainbow Valley, right where it happened. Espio could still see Valdez torturing him with the thought of robotizing Rainbow Valley. He could see Liza, struggling for her life in her final last moments. The look in her eyes as she was dragged away. Espio could never forget them. Liza was and is the only girl that Espio had ever liked. Secretly, of course. He couldn't just ask her. His mother was to choose his bride-to be as part of clan ritual. He knew His mother would have never chosen Liza. She was five ranks below him, and a horrid fighter. She was better at reading and writing, and art than anything else. She had told him once that she wanted to be a record-keeper, so that she may write everything she saw down to be forever kept and re-read years later.

And then there was Valdez. Who had always been there for him, had trained him for years. One of his closest friends. Just like that, they were gone.

" _You know Espio, these training sessions Valdez puts you through are horrifying to watch. He can't think that you're that good." Liza smiled and laid her head back. The meadow they were lying in was in full bloom, and bees flew through the air, looking for nectar. "I must be good. You should hear all the trainees complain about him. Apparently, he sets his standards pretty high." Espio looked over at Liza. She seemed lost in thought. "You okay?" Liza nodded. "I was just wondering…what it's like out there. I've only lived on Angel Island. And in Dragon Kingdom and Rainbow Valley. I've never seen the entire island. And I've only heard rumors about the Guardians and of the freedom fighters. I wonder if Lucy has Mobius history in that Library of hers. I wish I could read it." Espio snorted at that. "Lucy only lets Record-keepers in, or if you have specific business in there"_

_Espio smiled at her and climbed to his feet. Holding his hand out so Liza could stand he said; "I would love to take you there sometime. We could explore it together. Just me and you and…" "Valdez" Espio said. Liza gave him a puzzled look. "We're taking Valdez?" Espio shook his head. He picked up a rock and threw it at a tree. A blue Chameleon fell out and hit the ground. "No. Valdez. As in, Valdez was spying on us." Valdez got up and brushed himself off. "Nice job Esp. Thought you'd never find me." Espio grinned at his friend. "Truthfully, I had a feeling you were there all along." Liza rolled her eyes. "No you did not. Otherwise, you would have said something earlier." Valdez pulled Espio's hand and dragged him toward the Shinobi cave. "Your mother is curious to your whereabouts." Espio sighed. "Of course she is." He looked back at Liza. She winked at him and wandered off to find her mentor…_

Espio opened up his hands and let Cherry blossoms catch in the wind and blow away. Tears streaked his face. He looked up to the sky. "Goodbye…Sayonara Valdez, Sayonara Liza. I'll miss you. He wandered toward the direction of his clan, trying to cover the emotion. He didn't want to look weak, being the Bride's son and all.

Little did he know, a figure was watching Espio. Poised in the treetops, the figure watched Espio cry and walk away. It leaped out of the tree and landed perfectly on the compact ground. A petal from a Cherry tree landed on its foot. Picking it up, the figure studied it for a moment then let it go, watching as it blew in the wind. Then the figure vanished into thin air, and was gone.


End file.
